A party. A very unpredictable gathering where anything can happen; love, hate, friendship, pain, suffering. Each one holds a new event waiting to take place. When I woke up this morning, I never knew today would be the day that would change my life.
My teacher had just finished his daily lecture, right as the bell for lunch hour rang.
“Thank god, I don’t think I could have taken much more of that, how much is there to say about Delaware. It’s small and in the US…” Nerissa Quincey, the minion of Baylee Griffin, babbled on. As they passed me by, they both flipped their long highlighted hair in my face not even noticing my presence. I have always wanted to be exactly like them. Both of them pretty much had the exact same long silky blond hair, big color filled eyes, perfectly tanned skin with no blemishes or marks. If I was compared to them, they would be the diamond, and I would be the piece of coal, the ugly piece of worthless crap that no one wants. My shoulder-length brown hair was always the exact same, ugly. It never changes, I'll try to curl or straighten it, but that just makes it worse. As for my face, it's not that bad, but it could be better. A few zits here and there, but nothing major. I must have been staring at them for quite sometime, because my best friend Caitlin started to wave her hand in front of my face,
"Hello?" she said
"Huh? What? Oh. Sorry. What were you saying?” I quickly asked hoping she actually was saying something before I dazed off.
"I said, that if you wanted to we could go see a movie tomorrow, say, around six. I was hoping a funny movie but I don't care."
"Sure, sounds great I'll call you around four," Since neither of us had cell phones, we both called each other from home "I'll save you a seat!” I shouted after her, as I ran to lunch.
In the lunchroom, there were about twenty rectangular, wooded, tables. At each, sat a different clique. There were the dorks, populars, misfits, nerds, art freaks, mean/tough kids, and then there was us. Caitlin and I, the two kids that didn't really fit in anywhere. We always sat at the same table, alone. No one talked to us, and we talked to no on. We weren't weird or scary; we were just two girls with no other friends, and an embarrassing history.
On this particular day, my table was not in the lunchroom, I assumed that the custodians had finally taken notice to the one unbalanced leg on our table. I scanned the room with my eyes, hoping to find an empty area. It is very rare to have open seats, because of all the kids who table hop. Luckily, I managed to spot a few, at Baylee and Nerissa table. They didn’t seem to be using them so I supposed I could have the seats. I quickly popped up to the soup bar and bought myself some black bean soup. Today, I was not especially hungry, so I didn’t get and side dishes or desserts. After getting my soup, I slowly approached their territory. At first I felt fine, but with every step my stomach started to get uneasy.
When I finally reached their table, I quietly walked around the back of them to the open to seats at the end. They didn’t seem to notice me until I set my tray down.
“CRASH!” My tray slipped out of my hands, and milk spilled everywhere.
“Dang it,” I mumbled under my breath. My first impression on them in years, and I screwed it up. “Over here!” I shouted to Caitlin, waving my arms around. She raised her eyebrows at me, shrugged, and walked over. When she reached the table I was at she whispered to me,
“And why exactly are we sitting here?”
“Well, at the time these were the only two seats open,” I responded.
“Whatever.” She mumbled
I looked down at my tray. It looked like someone just scooped up a cup of mud, mixed it with water, and decided to call it black bean soup. With disgust, I moved on.
“So… That geography test yesterday was pretty hard huh?” I asked trying to start some conversation.
"I guess," she said tiredly. Caitlin doesn't get much sleep, and she has never told me why. I always assumed it was her sister, Sara. She had dropped out of high school when she was a junior, and now she is twenty. Caitlin says she always has people over in the basement and that they are very noisy. As for her parents, they don't really pay attention to either of them. They both have jobs that involve coming and leaving, a lot. One minute they’re at the house, and the next, their gone. All of the sudden, I noticed both Baylee and Nerissa staring at us. I smiled and Nerissa said,
"Hey, you guys wanna come to my house tonight? I'm having a party."
Before Caitlin could even open her mouth I said,
"Of course! What kind of party is it and what time is it?"
"Oh" she responded, "it's a swimming party. I have an indoor pool, so just wear your swimsuit and a towel. Right, you asked what time. Say... six work for you?"
"That'd be awesome! See you then I guess." I looked over at Caitlin, and she slowly looked down at her lunch. We just sat like that for the last five minutes of lunch.
That night I rush to get ready as a million questions flooded my mind. Should I call Caitlin and apologize? What swimsuit should I wear? What swimsuit are they wearing? Should I call and ask? No, that would be stupid. Should I bring a present? Is it a birthday party? How should I wear my hair? No, wait I’m swimming, it doesn’t matter. Wait! Yes it does! I had no time for this, I was running late, and I still didn’t know where Nerissa lived. I quickly looked up her name in the address book and told my mom to go out to the car.
“Quincy, Quincy, Quincy… QUINCY! 9752 Brumly Dr.” I shouted as I grabbed my polka dotted towel and flew out the door.
When I approached her house my heart almost stopped. In front of me was a mansion almost the size of the white house. Around each pillar there was a purple ribbon, and on each ribbon there were little stone at the bottom (I imagine diamonds.) Through the windows I could see flashing colorful lights, and I could hear loud rap music. Along the sidewalk leading up to the door, there were small shrubs and tulips. The yard looked like something in a magazine, perfectly mowed light-green lawn, with symmetrical plants, and not a weed in sight. Walking up to the door was like walking down a runway with little lights shining on you the whole way. At the door, I lifted my fist to knock and the door flew open. I turned around and signaled to my mom that I got in and she sped off. At the door there were about twenty people staring at me, and right away I knew I had made a mistake. None of them were in their swimsuits, and they were all smiling. I stepped in and the music stopped.
“Nice of you to come.” A voice said. I looked around the crowed wondering who said that.
“Up here, loser.” I heard that same voice, and I knew who it was: Nerissa. I looked up to see about three girls, including Nerissa and Baylee, and five boys. They were all holding this huge pot. The next thing I knew, red syrup was pouring down onto me and I became covered in sticky red syrup. Everyone was laughing, pointing, staring, and some kids were even taking picture. I ran out the door, my eyes filled with tears.
“Why me!” I though.
Now I had nowhere to go. Caitlin, who lived only three blocks away, was probably furious with me. My house was five miles away and it was dark. I had no choice, so I started to walk. When I got to Caitlin’s house I could see her through the window. She was watching T.V.
“How could I have blown her off like that?” I thought “I’m such a terrible person.” Right as I was thinking that, her door opened.
“Jen. Is that you?” She yelled down to me.
“Yeah?” I said, embarrassed.
“Come in here. You can shower and get cleaned up in my room. Then you can call your mom to pick you up when you’re ready.”
“You would really do that, even after what I did to you?” I shouted up in disbelief.
“Sure, you’re my best friend,” she started, “I know you were a jerk but I forgive you. Not everyone’s perfect, and this is just one of those stupid mistakes everyone makes.”
I smiled and ran up to hug her, forgetting that I was covered in sticky syrup.
“Hey Caitlin?” I asked, “Did I mention I was sorry?”
“Now you did. Now let’s go inside before the bugs start to swarm you.” She laughed. With that we walked inside. Going to school that coming Monday would be a battle that I would have to fight, but I knew now I wouldn’t be fighting alone.
My teacher had just finished his daily lecture, right as the bell for lunch hour rang.
“Thank god, I don’t think I could have taken much more of that, how much is there to say about Delaware. It’s small and in the US…” Nerissa Quincey, the minion of Baylee Griffin, babbled on. As they passed me by, they both flipped their long highlighted hair in my face not even noticing my presence. I have always wanted to be exactly like them. Both of them pretty much had the exact same long silky blond hair, big color filled eyes, perfectly tanned skin with no blemishes or marks. If I was compared to them, they would be the diamond, and I would be the piece of coal, the ugly piece of worthless crap that no one wants. My shoulder-length brown hair was always the exact same, ugly. It never changes, I'll try to curl or straighten it, but that just makes it worse. As for my face, it's not that bad, but it could be better. A few zits here and there, but nothing major. I must have been staring at them for quite sometime, because my best friend Caitlin started to wave her hand in front of my face,
"Hello?" she said
"Huh? What? Oh. Sorry. What were you saying?” I quickly asked hoping she actually was saying something before I dazed off.
"I said, that if you wanted to we could go see a movie tomorrow, say, around six. I was hoping a funny movie but I don't care."
"Sure, sounds great I'll call you around four," Since neither of us had cell phones, we both called each other from home "I'll save you a seat!” I shouted after her, as I ran to lunch.
In the lunchroom, there were about twenty rectangular, wooded, tables. At each, sat a different clique. There were the dorks, populars, misfits, nerds, art freaks, mean/tough kids, and then there was us. Caitlin and I, the two kids that didn't really fit in anywhere. We always sat at the same table, alone. No one talked to us, and we talked to no on. We weren't weird or scary; we were just two girls with no other friends, and an embarrassing history.
On this particular day, my table was not in the lunchroom, I assumed that the custodians had finally taken notice to the one unbalanced leg on our table. I scanned the room with my eyes, hoping to find an empty area. It is very rare to have open seats, because of all the kids who table hop. Luckily, I managed to spot a few, at Baylee and Nerissa table. They didn’t seem to be using them so I supposed I could have the seats. I quickly popped up to the soup bar and bought myself some black bean soup. Today, I was not especially hungry, so I didn’t get and side dishes or desserts. After getting my soup, I slowly approached their territory. At first I felt fine, but with every step my stomach started to get uneasy.
When I finally reached their table, I quietly walked around the back of them to the open to seats at the end. They didn’t seem to notice me until I set my tray down.
“CRASH!” My tray slipped out of my hands, and milk spilled everywhere.
“Dang it,” I mumbled under my breath. My first impression on them in years, and I screwed it up. “Over here!” I shouted to Caitlin, waving my arms around. She raised her eyebrows at me, shrugged, and walked over. When she reached the table I was at she whispered to me,
“And why exactly are we sitting here?”
“Well, at the time these were the only two seats open,” I responded.
“Whatever.” She mumbled
I looked down at my tray. It looked like someone just scooped up a cup of mud, mixed it with water, and decided to call it black bean soup. With disgust, I moved on.
“So… That geography test yesterday was pretty hard huh?” I asked trying to start some conversation.
"I guess," she said tiredly. Caitlin doesn't get much sleep, and she has never told me why. I always assumed it was her sister, Sara. She had dropped out of high school when she was a junior, and now she is twenty. Caitlin says she always has people over in the basement and that they are very noisy. As for her parents, they don't really pay attention to either of them. They both have jobs that involve coming and leaving, a lot. One minute they’re at the house, and the next, their gone. All of the sudden, I noticed both Baylee and Nerissa staring at us. I smiled and Nerissa said,
"Hey, you guys wanna come to my house tonight? I'm having a party."
Before Caitlin could even open her mouth I said,
"Of course! What kind of party is it and what time is it?"
"Oh" she responded, "it's a swimming party. I have an indoor pool, so just wear your swimsuit and a towel. Right, you asked what time. Say... six work for you?"
"That'd be awesome! See you then I guess." I looked over at Caitlin, and she slowly looked down at her lunch. We just sat like that for the last five minutes of lunch.
That night I rush to get ready as a million questions flooded my mind. Should I call Caitlin and apologize? What swimsuit should I wear? What swimsuit are they wearing? Should I call and ask? No, that would be stupid. Should I bring a present? Is it a birthday party? How should I wear my hair? No, wait I’m swimming, it doesn’t matter. Wait! Yes it does! I had no time for this, I was running late, and I still didn’t know where Nerissa lived. I quickly looked up her name in the address book and told my mom to go out to the car.
“Quincy, Quincy, Quincy… QUINCY! 9752 Brumly Dr.” I shouted as I grabbed my polka dotted towel and flew out the door.
When I approached her house my heart almost stopped. In front of me was a mansion almost the size of the white house. Around each pillar there was a purple ribbon, and on each ribbon there were little stone at the bottom (I imagine diamonds.) Through the windows I could see flashing colorful lights, and I could hear loud rap music. Along the sidewalk leading up to the door, there were small shrubs and tulips. The yard looked like something in a magazine, perfectly mowed light-green lawn, with symmetrical plants, and not a weed in sight. Walking up to the door was like walking down a runway with little lights shining on you the whole way. At the door, I lifted my fist to knock and the door flew open. I turned around and signaled to my mom that I got in and she sped off. At the door there were about twenty people staring at me, and right away I knew I had made a mistake. None of them were in their swimsuits, and they were all smiling. I stepped in and the music stopped.
“Nice of you to come.” A voice said. I looked around the crowed wondering who said that.
“Up here, loser.” I heard that same voice, and I knew who it was: Nerissa. I looked up to see about three girls, including Nerissa and Baylee, and five boys. They were all holding this huge pot. The next thing I knew, red syrup was pouring down onto me and I became covered in sticky red syrup. Everyone was laughing, pointing, staring, and some kids were even taking picture. I ran out the door, my eyes filled with tears.
“Why me!” I though.
Now I had nowhere to go. Caitlin, who lived only three blocks away, was probably furious with me. My house was five miles away and it was dark. I had no choice, so I started to walk. When I got to Caitlin’s house I could see her through the window. She was watching T.V.
“How could I have blown her off like that?” I thought “I’m such a terrible person.” Right as I was thinking that, her door opened.
“Jen. Is that you?” She yelled down to me.
“Yeah?” I said, embarrassed.
“Come in here. You can shower and get cleaned up in my room. Then you can call your mom to pick you up when you’re ready.”
“You would really do that, even after what I did to you?” I shouted up in disbelief.
“Sure, you’re my best friend,” she started, “I know you were a jerk but I forgive you. Not everyone’s perfect, and this is just one of those stupid mistakes everyone makes.”
I smiled and ran up to hug her, forgetting that I was covered in sticky syrup.
“Hey Caitlin?” I asked, “Did I mention I was sorry?”
“Now you did. Now let’s go inside before the bugs start to swarm you.” She laughed. With that we walked inside. Going to school that coming Monday would be a battle that I would have to fight, but I knew now I wouldn’t be fighting alone.